Re: herpes
From: Bernard Cristalli (bcrist@club-internet.fr)
Thu Mar 23 15:22:27 2000
Is this a news?
--
Bernard Cristalli MD AMACOG
AIHP - ACCA
Paris France
Bernard.Cristalli@CliniquedelEssonne.fr
http://www.CliniquedelEssonne.fr
http://www.obgyn.net/corresp/cristalli.htm
http://www.gyneweb.fr
'64 Mk2 3.8
> De : gklein@icsi.net Thu Mar 23 19:07:44 2000
> Répondre à : ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net
> Date : Thu, 23 Mar 2000 12:03:39 -0600
> À : Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L <ob-gyn-l@forum.obgyn.net>
> Objet : herpes
>
> Thursday March 23 1:05 AM ET
>
> Study Disproves Myths About Herpes
>
> By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
>
> People infected with genital herpes can spread it even between flare-ups
> when they have no symptoms, researchers suggest in a study
> published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
>
> Until recently, patients and most doctors thought people with herpes could
> safely have unprotected sex when they had no symptoms,
> which can include painful, oozing blisters, ulcers and fissures and
> tingling and burning. Most doctors advised patients to abstain from
> sex during flare-ups, but some said sex with a condom was OK.
>
> In their study of the incurable, widespread virus, University of
> Washington researchers found herpes present in genital secretions even
> when patients didn't notice any symptoms.
>
> ``The message from this study is first to encourage people who might be at
> risk for genital herpes to be tested and, No. 2, they should
> abstain during outbreaks and use condoms at all other times,'' said Dr.
> Anna Wald, an assistant professor in the department of medicine
> and epidemiology.
>
> Genital herpes, usually caused by the herpes simplex virus type 2, lurks
> in about one-fourth of U.S. adults, although only an estimated
> 20 percent of them know it.
>
> Herpes is spread through sexual contact when it enters the body through
> tiny passages in the skin. The virus lies dormant in nerves at
> the base of the spinal cord until something triggers an outbreak.
> Flare-ups generally last for a few days.
>
> There is no cure, but drugs can
> reduce the severity and frequency of flare-ups.
>
> While herpes isn't fatal, the sores
> can make it easier to become infected with the
> AIDS virus. Without precautions,
> herpes can be transmitted during childbirth,
> infecting the baby and sometimes
> causing brain damage or death.
>
> Wald's team studied 53 men and women
> who were unaware they had the virus until it
> was spotted in a blood test on a routine visit to a medical clinic in
> Seattle. Those patients were then asked to participate in the study,
> along with another 90 clinic patients with a history of symptoms.
>
> Each swabbed specimens from around the anus and genitals daily for three
> months and kept a diary of symptoms.
>
> Both groups had the virus present in secretions at the same rate on
> symptom-free days: about 3 percent, or one day a month on
> average.
>
> The researchers also found that men were potentially infectious at the
> same rate as women when no symptoms were noticeable,
> disproving the myth men can't spread the virus while symptom-free.
>
> Dr. Judith Wasserheit, head of sexually transmitted disease prevention at
> the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the
> study confirms other research but brings some good news: ``It is possible
> to learn how to recognize many of your symptoms and to use
> that knowledge to help protect your partner.''
>
> _______________________
> Geffrey H. Klein, MD
> _______________________
> geffrey.klein@obgyn.net
> 200 Medical Center Blvd Suite 103
> Webster, TX 77598
> (281) 332 6723
>
> http://www.geffreyklein.com
>
